Tag Archives: Musings

The Naysayers

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Categories: Musings
dont let

Everyday in our lives we believe in our ideas, our businesses, and our projects. This belief often leads to sharing your thoughts with friends, family, and peers, but when you do this, you need to be aware of a common reaction.

There will be those who are naysayers, who tell you your idea or business or project will never work. That you will fail. That you shouldn’t even try.

You should ignore these people. Letting others dictate what you do is not doing you any benefit, for several reasons:

  1.  You are not being yourself
  2.  You will always wonder what if
  3.  You won’t grow and learn from your mistakes

All these naysayers may very well be right and you may fail all the same, but with every failure comes a lesson, and without these pivotal points of learning, you’re more likely to not progress.

I’m not saying to turn a blind eye to constructive criticism, but do not let it be the sole deterrent for you not pursuing your dreams. There are too many variables for success that nothing is ever certain, so if you believe in it enough, then you should try, fail/succeed, learn, and grow.

Superstars vs. The Team: The NBA Finals

What’s the right way to achieve success? Build a unit of individuals or invest in a few superstars? This concept applies to sports and business, but what works better? We get a great example of this battle in this years NBA Finals between the Mavericks and the Heat.

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Categories: Musings
stars

This past Thursday we saw the Dallas Mavericks overcome a 15 point deficit in the 4th quarter to steal game 2 of the NBA Finals. It was an epic comeback and a brilliant effort by the Mavs as a team. The interesting thing about this series is that it once again brings up the debate between if championships can be bought by building a team full of superstars versus having a team that plays together as a unit.

We’ve seen championships won by spending the most money in other sports, such as soccer in Real Madrid and Manchester City, in baseball in the Yankees, and more recently in basketball, culminating with the Miami Heat with James, Wade, and Bosh. In this way, these NBA Finals are more than just a chance for redemption for the Mavericks, but also further proof between the right way to win: teams or superstars?

I think everyone appreciates a good team, its the romanticized way of achieving greatness, but in this day and age we see the philosophy has shifted towards focusing on the superstars, not the role players. The media has blown up the value of the individual over that of the team, which simply isn’t good for a sport that is so team oriented. Sure enough, every team needs a leader, and even the Mavericks have theirs in Dirk Nowitzki, but without the rest of his team, he knows they wouldn’t be where they are. I get the feeling the Heat don’t have the same mentality.

I believe the same ideas apply to the business world. Its the entire organization that os driving success for some of the top companies, yet all we hear about are the Mark Zuckerbergs and Steve Jobs of the world. Now this is of course just from what I can see from the outside and things may be very different behind closed doors. Even so, individuals working together, respecting and trusting one another, can achieve much more than any individual can on their own, and I hope that its this team chemistry that triumphs over the superstar mentality for these 2011 NBA Finals.

Procrastination? The Truth

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Categories: I Always Wondered

hourglassEveryone always says they procrastinate, it’s their biggest weakness, so on and so forth. But is it really procrastination that we all believe we are suffering from or is it something else all together? I feel that most of us are usually doing one of two things when we are “procrastinating.”

1. Working On Other Things

Whenever I feel I’m putting off a more important task, I’m never really being unproductive, rather I’m just working on things that are not as urgent. Now, if you’re still doing work that is of value, that is actually productive, then can that really be called procrastination? You’re not really putting it off, its just not your focus at the moment. Furthermore, until the deadline is passed, there is still time to spare…

2. Incubating

Even whe we put off the more important task and focus on other things, is that task still not lingering the back of our minds? Are we not consciously thinking of how best to approach that task and coming up with ideas, plans, and ways to take it forward?

Truly, instead of saying this is procrastination, it is more like a process of incubation, where although we are not physically doing the task at hand, we are mentally preparing for it, which plays a big part towards its successful completion.

In the end, I know that as much as I may procrastinate, I always leave myself enough time to get the job done to a level of which I would be happy with. A definition of procrastination is: deferring or delaying until the opportunity is lost.

I would never say that it comes to this point, although our habits may result in added stress as we work to meet a deadline, we are still usually able to achieve work up to our own standards.

So be it working on other things or incubation, if this is the type of procrastinating we are practicing, is it really procrastination at all?

Planning is Guessing

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Categories: Musings

businessplanWhen I was in college and working on my first startup, it was all about the plan. You need a business plan, you need financial projections, you need to know where you’ll be in 5 years, so on and so forth. Where did all that planning really get me? Nowhere.

Planning is all good and great when you’re doing it, feels valuable, but the fact of the matter is, nothing ever turns out quite like you expected it to, no matter how much you plan, which is truly why planning is guessing.

There is of course value in understanding the core of your business, having a clear vision, and doing research, but everything that deals with projections in particular I feel are a waste of time when it comes to the actual success of your business.

The only value I can see for creating these types of plans and projections is when it comes to funding for your business. It seems like they want to see a plan to put them at ease and show them that the company they are investing in knows what they are doing and will use this money wisely.

Aside from this funding factor, there appears to be no true business value connected with extensive planning that we so often see in startups.

What do you think? Is planning worth your time? And if so, to what extent?

Working a 9 – 5

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Categories: Musings

clockI’ve been working in an office environment for the past 6 months, and under the stringent schedule of working hours, namely 9 AM to 5 PM, although it’s usually till 6ish. Although this is a standard in the business world, I must say I’m not a fan.

Taking Breaks

Working from 9 to 5 straight with just a break for lunch in the middle, is just not a realistic proposition for anyone and I know I certainly don’t adhere to this rule. I’m here from 9 to 5, but I have to take breaks, do other things throughout the day to keep my energy up and stay productive. I take breaks where I go through my Google Reader, update my social media, read the news, and so on, and these sessions of personal time are just as important as my time devoted to work and of course I still manage to get my work done.

Its pivotal t to allow your employees these privileges as well, because in the end it gives your brain a break from the constant grind of a working environment. Think of the alternative, you would see employees zoning out, not paying attention to their work, and just waiting for it to be 5 PM so that they can leave, not exactly the mindset you want employees to be adhering to.

The Open Office

Furthermore, this formula of arriving to work at X and leaving at Y kills our creativity and spontaniety. Everyone gets inspired to do their work at some point during the day, and why force it to be during set hours that the company determines? I feel that as long as the work that is assigned gets done by the deadline, then there’s nothing else we can ask for.

To clarify, I’m not saying to get rid of the office by any means, but allow it to be an open office, a resource that is utilized when necessary, and always an option. A few things would be needed to ensure this works: consistent reports/updates with deliverables that show progress in assigned task, a clear understanding of the employee on what is expected, a method to assess quality of work and time spent, and of course weekly meetings or discussions to stay on track. All of this is really just to keep your employees motivated and not slack on their work.

Now if we can ensure deadlines are met, employees are not procrastinating, and communication is open (not an easy task, but feasible), then what is to stop us from implementing this open office environment?

The Everything Manager

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Categories: Master

Being at a startup I feel that it kind of just happens where you find yourself involved in every department of your business, from sales to marketing, business relations to research and development, you’re there and adding value and learning as you go. Doing this, I began to think of the value of such practice for all employees… now is there benefit to this practice, being involved in more that one area of your business?

And the answer is…

YES, from my perspective it is a useful practice, but needs to have some boundaries to optimize the benefit. When I say boundaries I mean it should probably be limited to only 2 areas of focus initially. Now the question is why. First of all, when we’re doing the same things over and over again, every single day of the week, we get tired of it, and very quickly. Now one way to circumvent such repetitive and mindless situations is to have somewhere to turn when you’re getting to this limit. This allows you to diversify your work load and when one aspect of your work isn’t holding your focus, switching gears to something that feels fresh can recharge your batteries and keep your productivity high.

Furthermore, your employees also get to expand their horizons, as you’re building their capacity in something that’s most likely not their specialty, but holds some interest to them. From this perspective their benefiting not only from the exposure, but also learning more about the internal workings of the business, which hopefully leads to a more efficient work place.

Being more creative

Finally, its a great way to inspire innovation in the company for two reasons. First you get a fresh perspective from someone who is not continuously focused on the task at hand, and we all know that a fresh perspective is all thats needed at times for progress and great ideas. Second you’re creating an environment for the intersection of thought processes between the two areas. This in itself is one of the best ways to innovate, and if you’re interested in this method you should definitely check out The Medici Effect by Fran Johannson.

medici effect

In the office

In terms of how it would work, you would assign an employee a primary job to focus on, and then a secondary one that they can lend time to during the week, with a point of contact in that department. Just two areas, as I feel thats more then enough to reap the benefits and not be overwhelming at the same time. Also, the point of contact is important to keep you up to date and not require you to play catch up continuously. I know I’m already doing it here, with not only more than two areas, but two jobs! Now there are definitely flaws with such a practice that could lead to insufficiencies and such, but if implemented clearly there is a real benefit to the employer and the company. What do you think??